ThreatFabric, an Amsterdam-based cybersecurity firm specializing in threats to the financial industry, has identified the "Cerberus" Trojan that steals 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) codes generated by the Google Authenticator app for internet banking, email accounts, and cryptocurrency exchanges. US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is one of the crypto platforms listed in Cerberus’ exhaustive list of targets — which also includes major financial institutions around the world and social media apps. The cybersecurity firm notes that it has not identified any advertisement on the dark beb for Cerberus’ updated features, leading it to believe that the updated version is “still in the test …

A former employee at Microsoft has been found guilty of 18 federal felonies in connection with a complex scheme to embezzle $10 million using cryptocurrency. The man — a 25-year old Ukrainian national, Volodymyr Kvashuk — worked as a full-time software engineer at the firm from August 2016, before being fired in June 2018. Kvashuk was convicted in the United States District Court in Seattle, the Department of Justice revealed on Feb. 25. “A house of lies” The multi-count conviction reveals the complexity of Kvashuk’s scheme, in which he hid behind accounts tied to his fellow employees and resorted to …

Earlier this week, the decentralized lending protocol bZx was exploited in back-to-back “flash loan” attacks. While the two exploits were distinct, the end results remained the same. In total, $954,000 was gleaned from the platform. But what exactly happened? Was it an exploit, a simple case of arbitrage or a malicious attack? And where does decentralized finance go from here? It hasn’t been a good PR week for the DeFi sector. For some, the movement promising an alternative to the legacy financial system is starting to look like a failed experiment. For others, the attacks amounted to little more than …

Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has updated its blacklist of cryptocurrency-related websites associated with fraudulent activity. The FSMA made the update following a number of complaints from Belgium-based users who dealt with fraudulent offers of investment in digital currencies, according to a Feb. 21 announcement. After the latest revision, the FSMA’s list now includes a total of 141 websites offering cryptocurrency-related services. Raising awareness of crypto-related risks The FSMA further warned that the list is based on customer reports and the agency’s own findings, meaning that it does not include all the crypto-related businesses that might be illegally …

Steve Chen, the mastermind behind the $147 million Gemcoin cryptocurrency scheme, has admitted to wire fraud and tax evasion in a plea agreement. The 62-year-old Southern California resident agreed that he and other co-conspirators fraudulently promoted a cryptocurrency called Gemcoin (or Gem Coins) that helped fleece $147 million from 70,000 victims. Chen, also known as “Boss,” reported an income of $138,000 in 2014 which is a far cry from the $4.8 million he now admits to pocketing that year. Chen used the proceeds to buy homes and pay for a gambling habit, authorities said. Virtual Coins Backed By Nothing Between …

A new extortion scam targeting website owners serving banner ads through Google's AdSense program has begun circulating the Internet. The malicious scheme demands Bitcoin (BTC) in exchange for preventing an attack, which would purportedly lead to the users’ AdSense account suspension. The email-based extortion scheme was reported by security news and investigation blog KrebsOnSecurity, on Feb. 17. The blog post detailed that some site owners received a message as their site had been spotted by the malicious program as one seeking revenue from publishing an ad. The message ostensibly read: “Very soon the warning notice from above will appear at …

It’s been nearly eight months since the Financial Action Task Force issued its divisive crypto directives, establishing traditional banking regulations within the crypto sector. With the year-long adoption deadline fast approaching, how have the world’s regulatory authorities responded to the guidelines so far? The FATF — an intergovernmental organization tasked with combating money laundering — found itself at the center of controversy last June after issuing its latest crypto guidance. The directive merged the cryptocurrency industry into existing banking policy, requiring firms to comply with the same requirements as traditional financial institutions. Among the more notable directives is the travel …

The nature of cryptocurrency fraud is shifting away from exchange hacks, and toward Ponzi-style frauds, pyramid schemes and exit scams. A massive 533% rise in the value of such crimes means that as misappropriated funds are laundered, the traditional banking system is increasingly exposed to risk under upcoming Financial Action Task Force (FATF) rules. That’s the conclusion reached by CipherTrace, a cryptocurrency intelligence firm, in a report released today. The Travel Rule requires virtual currency businesses to “obtain, hold and transmit required originator and beneficiary information in order to identify and report suspicious transactions, monitor the availability of information, take …

French, Belgian and Israeli investigators have brought down a scheme that defrauded €6 million ($6.64 million) from French and Belgian citizens, a Jan 29. press release from Europol reads. The fraudsters promised significant returns for the victims’ investment in what appears to have been a Ponzi scheme. The international network of fraudsters was allegedly masterminded by a French-Israeli citizen. Authorities arrested nine suspects connected with the scam in 2019. The investigation started in 2018 and was coordinated by Europol and Eurojust. The criminals reportedly set up a system promising large gains from investments in Bitcoin, diamonds and gold, and offered …

Research conducted by the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) of the Atlantic Council think tank suggests that the infamous cryptocurrency-themed Ponzi scheme OneCoin used fake reviews on TrustPilot and Quora to lure investors. According to a report published on Jan. 29, OneCoin received an anomalous number of five-star reviews on TrustPilot after the media started negatively covering OneCoin in October 2019. OneCoin’s TrustPilot reviews over time. Source: DFRLab Per the report, of the 579 TrustPilot reviews of OneCoin, 90% were positive and about 400 of the five-star ratings were published in a single month. DFRLab states that OneCoin also received …

The four class-action suits against Bitfinex, Tether and parent company iFinex over alleged market manipulation leading to Bitcoin’s (BTC) 2017 bull market have been consolidated — with implications for every BTC buyer since April 2017. Per an order dated Jan. 24 and filed Jan. 27 from Judge Failla of the court of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), four complaints have been consolidated. Plaintiffs Leibowitz, Young, Faubus and Ebanks — as well as assorted sub-listed parties in each of those cases — will now have their cases heard jointly. The original allegations and controversy surrounding Bitfinex, Tether The class-action …

Two men have been arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of defrauding IT firm Vipstar Inc. from hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bitcoin (BTC), Mainichi reported on Jan. 23. One of the suspects is a former employee who used his access to steal money from a trading fund. Yuto Onitsuka and Takuma Sasaki are accused of stealing 78 million yen (approximately $712,000) from Vipstar, a blockchain project. They are also suspected of committing computer fraud and contravening a government act on the control of criminal proceeds. The police alleges that on Oct. 29, 2018, the suspects made 12 unauthorized entries …